I will be honest and say that my mind is blank as to what to write right now. It happens. Despite what people may think about creative types having an endless supply of ideas and inspirations, my ideas well has been dry for quite some time now. Instead, I’ll share some questions I’ve been reflecting on.

On reopening cafes or expanding your service beyond a pickup window

  • What will you do and say when a customer refuses to wear a face mask?
  • How have your goals changed from the beginning of 2020 to now? Have you set new goals?
  • In which scenarios would you ban a customer? Does your staff have your full support in doing so?

On marketing

  • Do you think it’s a good time to restart social ads that promote your coffee or product? Some food for thought: a number of civil rights groups have called on businesses to not advertise on Facebook’s platforms in July.
  • It’s been more than two weeks since the black squares and declarations of change announced from companies. Have you followed up on what you promised? Or maybe you were one of those who stayed silent because you wanted to reflect more. What have you accomplished since that time?
  • Inspired by Meister’s piece, what are the actual benefits of releasing that transparency report or being upfront about your business? Does it benefit only you?

On racism

  • In the better-late-than-never scenario of realizing you haven’t done as much as you thought you have in terms of combating racism… what are your company’s values and do they need to change?
  • Inspired by this post, are you more willing to justify your thoughts and decisions that resulted in a white leadership team than you are willing to put in the work for changing this structure?
  • What are you willing to give up? Say you were invited to speak on a digital panel – can your spot go instead to a Black industry colleague? Can your position’s duties be delegated to a BIPOC (with increased pay) so they can improve on their job skill set? Can you step down from your organization or board seat or council seat and nominate someone else in your place?